Hibs Boy: The Life and Violent Times of Scotland's Most Notorious Football Hooligan

by Andy Blance

Andy Blance was one of the first football casuals, and as a leading light of Hibs Capital City Service (CSS) he was right at the heart of the mayhem that swept through the Scottish game in the 1980s and 90s. This is his compelling and moving account of the influences that drove him to become Scotland's most violent football thug.

Genres: Scotland

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are my "sure, why not" books, mostly the same kind of stuff every time. This one is better than most, but still not great. Just once, one single time I'd love one of these to just be written like a chronological memoir instead of jumping all over the place. So much repetition.

[Tommy McQuillan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept of going to the football to fight and enjoy the fighting is an alien one to me. Andy Blance was a member of the CCS the Hibernian casuals who go to follow their football team but feel the need to have a brawl with casuals of other Scottish, English and European like minded people who want to fight.

The book is an honest and often brutal account of the casuals in the 80's and 90's and tells of how these guys lived for a Saturday and why they were the top crew in Scotland. It also goes into how the main protagonist was into shoplifting, being a doorman, how others were into extortion, drugs and the deaths of a few people along the way. It's graphic and explains that the path these guys took was fraught with danger not just fighting with rival casuals but police brutality as well.

As a football supporter myself for over fifty years and reading this book it's not something I would've got involved in. I wouldn't have been afraid to but spending time in police and prison cells isn't worth the aggro to me. I felt Andy's story was a little bit sad and pathetic to be honest, others may have different views and that's fine but embarrassing my family on a daily basis by getting involved in violence it's not for me.

Andy seems to be proud of what he got up to but fighting at football doesn't make you a hard man in my opinion, he does however seem genuinely sorry for what he put his dad through and his wife Margo too. His marriage and a couple of other relationships broke down because of his need to fight and get the adrenaline rush it brought. Andy Blance is an intelligent erudite guy and could've made so much more of his life he admits that himself so why football hooliganism? The guy's the same age as me and although the halcyon days of scrapping at the game on a Saturday are over now as the police upped their game, I can't help feeling it was a waste of a life and a sad indictment of the 1980's and 90's in Scotland and in particular Edinburgh under Thatcher's Tory government and her particular disdain for Scottish people as a whole.

Would I recommend this book? Probably not, but it's an interesting perspective into the thought process and psyche of a working class football hooligan. In a way it's all these boys had to do as there was mass unemployment at the time which is why they turned to other ways of making money often illegal. If you're not squeamish or woke you might enjoy this book, I enjoyed it as a read but I wouldn't be a willing participant in anything that got me a criminal record or cause harm to others. Each to their own as they say but the guy's become a businessman now and he tries to give back to his community. He's still followed and harassed by the police to this day even although he's a 57 year old man it's the price he has to pay for his past.

[Matt Hamilton · Rating 1 out of 5]

An absolutely awful attempt to add to the canon of proper naughty football hooligan volumes. In desperate need of proof reading and editing and as for the content... thankfully cleared up the nations wait for further information on the world famous ‘Kronk’ show trial that had the world on the edge of its second at for moths whenever it was.

Without doubt, one of Inverkeithing’s crime highlights.

Worth reading alone for the thirty page forensic account of every last blow, parry and cliche soaked detail of what went on, before a further thirty pages of how the police were trying to fit him up covertly for what he’s just admitted to.

Incredible. And not in a good way.

[Paul Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost fiction like in how its written. Gripping from the first chapter. Filled with stories on Andy's football journeys and in his personal life surrounding the CCS, Hibs casuals of the 80s, 90s & early 2000s. Worth the read! Only took me just over a week to get it finished. I barely read as it is.

[Darren Whelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

This was one of the better football casual books I have read. He talked the talk and Defo walked the walk

[David Perrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of years ago I read Sandy Chugg's book 'Rangers & the famous ICF' and this book told a very similar story but obviously from a different point of view. However, Andy provided more insight into the dark netherworld of urban crime and gang culture that lies beneath the football violence and you felt it was through this side of life that he ran into the most trouble. You are never totally sure as to why he chose to follow such a violent, crime ridden way of life but it is pleasing that he is now a reformed business and family man.

[Kyle Youngblood · Rating 3 out of 5]

A deep dive into Scottish football hooliganism. Far from a professional author, found it compelling and a complimentary read to the Among the Thugs.